Spinach and Meatball [not] Arrabiata

EASY VEGETARIAN RECIPE

I saw a video about 20 years ago, deep into my “hippie-ness”, not worth a description at all.  But, it inspired me to drastically change my diet, from LOTS of meat to a totally veggie diet. (Not to be confused with vegan…cheese is my friend!)

It is not what I saw in the video, but how my physical body changed, that has kept me to my veggie diet all these years.

I married a “fish guy” so I started eating fish, and have spent many years experimenting with veggie and fish recipes. Give me a recipe and I will tweak it, change it, and massage it into vegetarian yumminess. If you don’t know this yet, veg cooking can be extremely scrumptious!

So, the recipes you will find here are inspired by chefs, by cravings and by pure love of cooking.  My hubby is constantly telling me to “write that down!” I never listened. Thanks to my dear friend Roger, I am now writing it down. Nothing is exact; I am a fly by the seat of my pants cook. Use your creativity…relax, experiment, and always use your imagination!

And most importantly, HAVE FUN and LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!

Spinach and Veggie Meatball Arrabiata 

Ingredients:                      

One bag of veggie meatballs (I get the ones from Trader Joes) 

4 cups or so of spinach 

4-5 cloves of fresh garlic 

A hand full of basil, fresh, or frozen cubes 

Olive oil to coat the pan generously 

A jar of your favorite marinara sauce 

Red pepper flakes (to taste, depending on your spicy-ness!) 

Brown sugar 

Dried oregano

Black pepper 

A dash or 2 of garlic salt

Parmesan and Feta Cheese 

 Preparation:

Coat a large sauté pan with a generous amount of olive oil.

Add your veggie meatballs to cook on med-high heat turning every couple of minutes to brown on the entire surface.  I often add extra olive oil as I am cooking them.  While they are browning add the garlic and basil. 

Cook the veggie meatballs for 20-30 minutes tossing them frequently.  (Do not rush this step; cooking the meatballs slow and hot keeps them from getting mushy).  Also, by tossing the veggie meatballs, it keeps the garlic from burning and will crisp the balls evenly. 

When the veggie meat balls are crispy and browned add your marinara sauce.  I have used jarred sauce, homemade sauce that I have left over, or frozen.  Simmer for 15ish minutes, adding the oregano, red pepper flakes, brown sugar, black pepper and garlic salt.  After adding the sauce be sure to toss them very gently or they will fall apart.

Meanwhile, in a separate pan sauté your spinach in a bit of olive oil and garlic for 2-3 minutes.  Be sure not to over cook the spinach, it will be softened by the sauce as well.

Plate the spinach on a large plate, topped with the marinara and meatballs.  Sprinkle with parmesan and feta cheese.

Serve with a full bodied red wine and yumminess happens!!!

Good Eating and Table Talk,

Kacy  

Editor’s Note:

She Who Must Be Obeyed and I have enjoyed many flavorful vegetarian meals created by Kacy.  I have been begging Kacy to give us a nice easy recipe that I could share on my blog. Finally I told her I would create a fish and vegetarian page to which she could contribute whenever she liked!!  So, I am thrilled that she has submitted her first, of many I hope, easy recipe for all of us to enjoy. If you follow her step by step recipe she will show you how to create an easy vegetarian family meal or great dish for entertaining.

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